Electric car-heating system.



L. P. HYNES.

ELECTMC CAR HEATING SYSTEM. APPucATmN mio Mlm. 22, ma.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

L. P. HYNES.

ELECTRIC CAR HEATING SYSTEM.

mmc/111011 m51) 111111. 22, 1913.

1,23%341 1 1111111111111 Aug. 21, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L. P. MINES. ELECTRIC CAR HEATING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22,I9I3. 1,237,341h l PamntedAug. 21,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

LEE P. HYNES, or

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .ASSIGNORy T0 RAILWAY UTILITY COMPANY, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

ELECTRIC CAR-HEATING SYSTEM.

Application led March 22.

To all whom z'z may concern: i n

Be it known that I', LEE I). I-IYNEs, a citi- Zen of the United States,residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have madecertain new and useful Improvements in Electric Car-Heating Systems, ofwhichg.

the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to such a system which isthermostatically controlled, my object `in part being to employ thereina thermostat thermometer for making and breaking lthe circuit throughthe car heaters. By thermostat thermometer I mean to indicate athermostat which comprises a column of mercury which, near its lowerend,` is in constant contact with one branch of a circuit and is adaptedto complete the circuit by making contact at a point higher up in thetube inclosing the mercury column. An instrument of this character israther delicate and it is necessary to avoid sparking upon thecompletion or interruption of the circuit. My invention thereforecomprises means by which the heating current can be controlled to anicety by a thermostat of this character without risk of injury to thelatter. In the accompanying drawings and in the following specificationI have specifically set forth a preferred form of my invention and ofthe various details thereof for the purpose of exemplifying the same butit is te beiunderstood that I am not limited to the specific system orapparatus shownbut the scope of my invention is to be gathered from thefollowing claims in which I have endeavored to dene the same from theprior art so far as known to me without, however, relinquishing or aban-Cloning` any portion thereof.

Inv the accompanying drawings Figure l. is a diagrammatic representationof my system; Fig. 2, a vertical section of the main relay or cutout onthe line 2-2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3, a top plan of the same with the coverremoved; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section on the plane oftheline Ll-tof Fig. 3 at right angles to the plane of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is avertical section of an auxiliar relay on the line 5 5 of Fig. 6; Fig. 6is a top plan view; Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the same on the line7-7 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a vertical section of a shunt resistanceforming part of my system; and Fig. 9 is a vertical section of a specialform of thermostat thermometer likewise forming part of Vmy system.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aue'. 2i.. ist El.

1913. Serial No. 756,190.

Each part1 is designated by the same character of reference wherever itoccurs in the several views. Referring rst to the dia grammatie View,the trolley or other supply circuit is indicated at 11u12, the carheateas atl3-13 and the circuit is closed `tlirough the latter by meansof a main contactor 1t the details of which need not be described sinceit is or may be of a form well known in the art and which comprises asdiagrammatically shown in Fig. l, a pivoted switch l5, an electro-magnet16 controlling the same, resistances 1T and 18 connected on oppositesides of said electro-magnet. a stationary contact 19 and a`blow-out 20.Any other form of electro-magne'tically operated contacter capable oftaking care of the trolley voltage which in modern practice ordinarilyamounts to about 550 volts, may be employed instead of that just de.-scribed. The coil of the magnet 16 together with the resistances of themain contactor forni part of a circuit in shunt to the main heatingcircuit comprising also contacts of a cut-out or main relay 2l and wires22 and 23. A second shunt circuit between the leads of the trolley,which is permanently closed, includes a wire 23, shunt resistance 24e,wire Q5 and wire 23 above mentioned. From the last named circuit a minorshunt circuit is taken comprising the thermometer thermo stat 26 and thccoil of an auxiliary relay 27. In order to secure from the main circuitof 55() volts a su'tliciently small voltage to avoid injury to thethermometer thermostat the circuit thereof is in shunt to a smallsection 2S of the shunt resistance Q4 and obviously hy proportioning theresistance of this section 28 to the entire resistance across the leadsthe voltage in the thermostat circuit may be made of any desired amount.The auxiliary relay 2T controls the current', through thc coil of themain relay 2l, the spring 29 controlled thereby serving to close thenormally open contacts SiO-3l of said main relay coil. The main relay21, when energized, opens contacts in the circuit through the coil ofthe main contacter referred to above, and thereby breaks the heatingcircuit. A condenser 32 is connected across the contacts @E0-3l of theauxiliary relay to prevent arcing and a condenser 33 is connected acrossthe terminals of the ther- .mometer thermostat :26 for the same purposewhen the current is broken, butthe circuit 4including condenser 33 iscontrolled by the main relay and is open when the contacts ofrelay-comprises a'casing 34, which may be. of iron, containing asolenoid -coil 35 `preferably mounted upon a spool for convenience inremoval and readjustment and l surrounding a lnon-magnetic tube 36 ofbrass or other similar material in which the solenoid core 37 is freelymovable in a vertical direction. At its lower endthe casing is magneticcircuit. At-lts'upper end the solenoid core is tapered at 4l andconnectedv closed by an iron cover plate 38 and its up perjp'end by aniron disk 39 having a de- '.pending nipple or boss 40 o f the samematerial which is hollow and countersunk at its lower end 42 of thesolenoid. The casing 34,-cover plate 38, disk 39, and boss 40 form withthe solenoid a substantially closed toa neck 43 lupon the upper reduced,end of which 4is-mounted a -spool or collar 44 of insulating materialsecured to the neck by .a nut 45.l )Above'the disk 39 is mounted aninsulating-disk 46 upon which arese` 'levers 48-48 which are of bellcrank form and control the current through the coil of magnet 1,6 o fthe main contaetor.' To 4 the outer and longer 'arms of these levers'vare secured in any suitable manner, as by the metal Aclips 49- 49, themembers of a .pair of carbon contact-blocks n50-50 which are furthersecured in position byscrews 4'5l-51.. The'contac't levers 48 areprovided with-inwardly: projecting arms 5252 which engage in the grooveofithe spool or collar 44v and are operated thereby to swingthe contact'arms into closed 'or open'positions.

The upper end of the casing is closed preferably by agcover 53, theunder face of which is protected bya disk of insulating material; micavmay be suggested as. suit- Upon opposite sides rof the'pair o vcontactarmsare mounted insulating'plates 55-55, preferably ofi mica, which'arev yscrewed or otherwise secued to blocks of insulating material 5656screwed to the'walls ofthe casing. YVithin the sc gf ments divided oiton opposite sides of t e 'contact arms by these insulating plates aremounted electro-magnets 57 58458' of which arev attached angular corebut outside the' mica insulation. E5

pieces 59-59 which 'extend downwardlyA 'upon' opposite `sides of thecontact blocks The coils of these electro-magnets are 'connected 1n 57,to the coresv 4series with lther'contact arms of the device so that aslong as the current is passing between the latter it is also-passino'throu h the magnets whichare so woun and t e cores of'which are soconnected to the iron plate 39 `as lto form a magnetic circuit, the

only break of which 'is across the Space occupied by the contact blocks.This magnetic circuit has noappreciable effect upon thc contact blockswhen the latter are in closed position. When, however, the circuit isopened by separating the contact blocks, the magnetic circuit exerts itswell known effect to quench any arc that may bo drawn between thecarbons. The pole pieces of the magnets are however protected by theinsulating partitions. v

It will 'of course be understood from the foregoing description thatwhen a current passes through the solenoid coil of the relay the 'coreis drawn upwardwithin the saine and throws the inner ends of the con-.,tact members upward andthe carbon blocks 'tain the'solenoid core inits upper position and the weight of the latter, when no eurrent'ispassing through the solenoid coil, is

cured brackets 47,-47 between the project-` l ing ears of whicharepivoted the Contact suiicient to insure close contact between thevcarbon blocks. A

As heretofore stated, this ymain `relay not only controls the currentthrough the magnet of the main contacter but also opens andcloses thecircuit through-the condenser 33. The particular construction by whichthis is accomplished is shown in Fig. 2. The lower cover -plate 38 is,formed with a central' aperture through which the solenoid core extendsand which is tapped to receive a' sleeve 60 ofsuitable conductivematerial vprovided intermediate its ends with a perhaving Contact points67 for making electricalzconnection with the diaphragm 61. One branch ofthe circuit of condenser 33 is attached to the brass ring through anopening 68 in the plunger, and other branch of the vcircuit to thesleeve at 69. When the solenoid core isin its lower position, as it mainrelay, the solenoid core is raised and completes the condenser circuitby allowing -the spring to force the plunger against the diaphragm.

The condensers 32-33 are or may be of any ordinary approved type but theauxiliary relay 27 and the shunt resistance present features of noveltyin their construction and will-be specifically described.

The relay as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, comprises a case, preferably ofsheet metal, in which is inclosed a solenoid coil 27, the core 72 ofwhich is limited in its movement by screws 7373 extending throughopenings in the armature plate 74 of the core. Screws 73 are attachedinto a U-shaped iron forging 75 which partially surrounds the solenoidcoil, and the ends 7 6 of which extend beneath the coil to form with thearmature plate and core a substantially closed magnetic circuit. Abovethe forging 75 the casing is substantially closed by a disk 77 ofinsulating material upon which is mounted a leaf spring contact 31. Thedisk 77 and forging 75 are perforated in the axis of the solenoid coiland core, and the latter carries a rod 30 of insulating material whichis adapted when the solenoid core is drawn upward, to bear against thespring contact'l and close it against the adjustable stationary contact30 which, as shown, comprises a screw mounted in a bracket 80, thelatter being connected to the terminal of the main relay and the sprin'gcontact being connected to the wire 22, as show-n at 81. The specificconstruction'of the shunt resistance 24 diagrammatically shown in Fig.lyis illustrated in Fig. 8. It comprises a nonmagnetic casing 82 whichis adapted to be screwed to any tlat surface and incloses a spool83,through the bore of which a screwbolt 84 for the purpose of s'ecuring itto a support 85, by means of the nut 88. Upon the spool is a coil ofsuitable resistance material, the terminals of which are connected bywires T, R to the wires 23, 25, respectively.' At an intermediate pointbetweenl the ends ofthe coil and pref- 'erably toward the middlethereof, a suitable -length of the resistance material is shunted'through the thermometer thermostat circuit by the wires 87-88. Thecurrent through the thermometer thermostat will of course bey determinedby the fall potential across thesi terminals, and the latter may besubstantially fixed by determining the total vfall ef potential in theresistance coil and properly proportioning the shunted length of thecoil. By connecting the shunt near the center of the resistance coil thedanger of disastrous short circuiting is avoided.

'As above stated, a construction of the therinometer thermostat is shownin Fig. 9. This device comprises thermometer tube v89 of glass orsimilar insulating material in which the bore is enlarged as at 90 91 atthe point where the contact wires are inserted, for the purpose ofsecuring a larger contact surface. In the particular form shown but twocontacts are employed, `but it will be understood that if desired, anumber of contacts to be alternatively employed, may be inserted in thethermometer tube,

and suitably connected. The wires forming the contacts 92-93 arepreferably of platinum and extend through bores or openings formed inthe wall of the tube and into the enlarged openings or cavities abovementioned. and turn downward to the lower ends thereof, and are suitablycovered with insulating material from the points at which they enter thethermometer tube. As shown in the figure, the wires are bent to lieagainst the outer wall of the thermd'meter tube and wrapped with wire orcord, as at .Q4- 95, to prevent their being broken. The thermometer tubeis incased throughout its length from the bulb. upward in a housing QGof rubber, glass, or similar insulating material, which tits closelyaround the tube immediately above the bulb and is filled with an.insulating compound which is poured in around the .thermometer andallowed to set. The insulator tube is. in

cased in a tubular metal jacket 97 which also extends over and protectsthe bulb and is closed at its upper and lower ends by screw plugs 98*99forming parts brackets 100-101, adapted to be attached to a wall orother flat surface, the walls of the jacket being perforated oppositethe bulb to allow free contact with the air;

The particular arrangement of the various elements of the system is ofcourse immaterial, so long as the connections above described areprovided, but it is ordinarily found convenient to `inclose the mainrelay or shunt resistance and the auxiliary relay in a suitable case orbox, and to mount ther thermometer thermostat where it will be exposedto the' air in the compartment to be heated, and under observation.

The operation of the apparatus has been substantially described inconnection with below that for 'which the thermometer thermo'stat isarranged or set, 'there will be no current through the latter, theauxiliary relay will be unenergized and its contacts open, there will beno current through the coil of the main relay and henceits contacts willbe together, permitting a ow of current through the coil of the maincontacter,

closing and retainin l0.

closed the switch thereof, which closes t e circuitthrough the carheaters. When the temperature 1n the car or other compartment beingheated rises suiciently tov cause the mercury in the thermometerthermostat to close the circuit therethrough, the current Hows from theshunt ofresistance 24 through the thermometer thermostat and a coil ofthe auxiliary lrelay 27. It may be noted here, as above described thevcircuit of condenser 38 being open at the main relay at the time thecontact is made at the thermometer thermostat,

nthe condenser is inactive and no discharge spark is given. The How ofcurrent through the coil of the auxiliary relay attracts the core andarmature thereof,l drawing them lup into` position in which theinsulator rod 79 closes the contacts of the switch. This closes acircuit from the conductor 23 through the coil 2l of the main relay,contacts. 30-31, wires 22-23, back to line. The main relay thereupondraws up its armature and throws open the'. contacts controlled thereby,as heretofore described and if an arc is formed between said contacts,it is immediately blown out by the magnetic cirl"'cuitabove described.The opening of the contacts of the main relay breaks the circuit throughthe coil 16 of the main conductor, theswitch whereof immediately opensand the current through the heaters is interrupted. When the temperatun`in the com-I' lactor for controlling said circuit, compris? ing anelectro-magnetic operating coil, a main relay controlling the currentthrough said coil, and comprising an operating coll, an auxiliary relaycontrolling the current through the latter coil, and comprising anoperating coil and a thermostat controlling the current through the lastnamed coil.

"2. In a heating system of the class described, a heating circuit,electro-magnetic means for opening and closing the same,

rent through said contactor contact device and an auxiliary relay, the

`said means including a thermostatvv adapted and arranged to make andbreak the current through said electro-magnetic means, a con.- denser inshunt to said thermostat, and means for closing the condenser circuitafter the circuit is closed through said thermostat, and opening itafter the circuit through the thermostat is open.

3. In a heatingsystem of the class described, and in combination withtheheating circuit and electro-magnetic means for opening and closingthe same, a main relay controlling the flow of current through saidelectromagnetic means and including van electro-magnetic coil and a partoperated thereby, a thermostat contro ling the passage of currentthrough the main relay and a condenser in shunt to said thermostat, thecircuit of which comprises a pair of contacts controlled by the movablepart of the main relay. i l

4. In a heating system of the classA described, and in combination withthe heating circuit and electro-magnetic means for' opening and closingthe same, a main relay adapted to open and close the circuit throughsaid electro-magnetic means, an auxiliary relay for controlling thecircuit of the main relay and comprising an electromagnetic coil, athermostat controlling the circuit of the auxiliary relay, a'condenserin shunt to said thermostat, and connections controlled by the mainrelay for opening and closing the condense circuit.

5. In a heating system of the class described, and in combination`withthe heatingcircuit and electro-magneticmean:l for opening and closingthe same, an"`auxiliary relay controlling the current througlr saidelectro-magnetic means, a thermostat ron'- trolling the circuit throughthe relay, a condenser iri shunt to the thermostat, a pair oflcontactscontrolling the condenser circuit,

.and means operated by the main relay for controlling the said contacts.

(i. In a heating system of the class described, and in combination withthe heatingcircuit thereof and its electro-magnetic contactor, apermanently closed circuit in shunt thereto, and comprising aresistance,4 a circuit in shunt to a section `of said resistance andcomprising a thermostatic switch and electro-magnetic means forcontrolling the o erationof said main contactor.

7. n a heating system of the class described, and in combination withthe heat'- ing circuit and its electro-magnetically controlledcontactor, a permanently closed shunt to said heat circuit co rising a-resistance, 'a main relay control lng the cura thermostaticelectro-magnetic coil of which is in shunt to a section of theresistance, contact means 'controlled by said auxiliary relay; forcontrolling the passage of current through the main relay, and meanscontrolled by the main relay for controlling the passage ot' currentthrough the contactor.

8. In a heating system of the class described, 'and in combination withthe heating circuit and the electro-magnetic contactor thereof, a mainrelay, the contacts of which are comprised in and control the'circuit ofthe contactor', a pair of contacts con trolling the electro-magneticmeans of the main relay, a permanently closed circuit in shunt to theheating circuit and comprising a resistance, a circuit in shunt to asection of said resistance, and including a thermostatic switch andelectro-magnetic means controlling the last mentioned contacts.

9. In a heating system of the class described and in combination withthe heating circuit thereof an electro-magnetic switch controlling theheating circuit, a main relay comprising a solenoid coil, core, andcontacts, the latter of which control the passage of current through thefirst named switch, a pair of contacts for making and breaking circuitthrough said solenoid coil, a permanent shunt to the heating circuitcomprising a resistance, a circuit in shunt to a portion of saidresistance and including a thermostatic contact and electro-magneticmeans controlling the contacts in the main relay coil circuit.

10. In a heating system of the class described, and in combination withthe heating circuit and an electro-magnetic contactor LEE P. HYNES.

Witnesses:

JOHN B. MACAULEY, ROBERT DOBBERMAN.

